27 Ways to Make Side Money: Both Online and In-person

Making extra money through side hustles or side gigs have never been easier, than in this digital age. The Internet has opened up opportunities through which freelancers, entrepreneurs and independent sales agents can make extra income. This article provides a comprehensive list of side hustle opportunities that you can access and manage online and/or deliver in-person.

Over two-thirds of Americans started a side hustle in the last three years and over 34% of Americans now have a side hustle. This trend will likely continue to grow since we now live in a gig economy. Good news is, you are not alone in wanting to start a side hustle.

On average, working Americans dedicate 10–12 hours a week on activities related to their side hustles, and earn over $1,000 per month. This can add up to over $12,000 a year and can cover anything from mortgage cost, to health care, child care, grocery, and transportation. It is important to note that some more sought after, high paying services may provide even more returns than others.

So what are some fast paying side hustles that you can explore?

Real Side Hustles to Consider and Where to Find Them

1. Freelance work- Check sites like Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer, Thumbtack, Angi, and Taskrabbit.
2. Sell your lightly-used clothes, shoes, and wares on sites like Etsy, Poshmark, Stitch Fix and Mercari.
3. Complete online surveys for cash or gift cards- Check out Amazon Mechanical Turk, Survey Junkie, and Swagbucks. 
4. Be a brand opinionist. Check out Branded Surveys.
5. Become a website and apps tester- Check out sites like UTest, UserFeel, User Testing. 
6. Be a virtual assistant, and help provide administrative functions and support to individuals and organizations.
7. Be a Blogger- You can create your own blog site on WordPress or publish on Medium and make money from advertisements and product promotions.
8. Provide transportation services for Uber and Lyft.
9. Sell lightly used products on social media- Consider Facebook marketplace and Instagram.
10. Become a social media influencer by building followership on sites like Instagram and TikTok, and inserting brand related content to your posts, for advertisement dollars.
11. Create pins and graphics on Pinterest.
12. Set up a channel and create video content on YouTube for advertisement dollars.
13. Make money through gaming and shoutcasting on Twitch.
14. Sell professional photographs on sites like SmugMug, Fine Art America, and Photo Shelter.
15. Become a Dog walker/ Sitter- Check out sites and apps like Rover and Wag. 
16. Be a babysitter- You can find gigs from sites and apps like Care.com, Sittercity, Urbansitter, and Helpr.
17. List your home or a room in your home for rent in Airbnb.
18. Become a tutor- Check out sites like Smarthinking, Tutor Doctor, Wyzant, and University Tutor. 
19. Be a truck driver- See step by step guidelines on how to become a truck driver.
20. Be a special occasions photographer and videographer.
21. Sell products on Amazon and Walmart.
22. Deliver food on Uber Eats and DoorDash.
23. Publish short children’s stories on Amazon.
24. Create and launch a podcast.
25. Sell scrap metals and turn your junks and other people’s junks into gold.
26. Collect and sell used textbooks– Check out Textbooks, BookScouter, and eCampus.
27. Make hair for top dollars- Check out Booksy.

How do you Decide Whether to Start a Side Hustle

Side gigs are not for everyone. They can be time and energy consuming. They require dedication and sacrifice. Because most people combine side hustles with their full time jobs, their personal and family time might be affected. However, take courage, because you just might be building your own empire.

Before you start a side hustle, consider the following;

1. Think about why you intend to start a side hustle. Your reason will become a motivation for you when things are not going as fast as you hoped.
2. How many hours in a week can you dedicate to extra work? You must be realistic, considering your full time work hours, health, family, and sanity. Once you commit, you want to see it through.
3. Decide what time of day you would be able to work on your gig. Some people work their full time jobs in the day and pursue their side gigs at night. Others work their full time jobs and side gigs concurrently.
4. Are you responsible enough to deliver the services, if given the chance? Most of the work sites and apps require reviews. Getting work done and providing quality service will help improve your reviews.
5. Think about what you have to offer. Take stock of your skills. For example, are you good at storytelling, content/ graphic design, coding, dress making, hair making, or project management. Note that some of your skill areas might be combined, or you might combine a few skills to accomplish a task.
6. Isolate one to two skill areas that you have the most strength and experience, and think about building a hustle around those areas.
7. Think about the going rate for your skill and what rate you are willing to provide your services for.
8. Find gigs by networking with contacts in your related field. Through oral referrals, connect with individuals, start-up to medium organizations needing your service.
9. Think about starting small. It is important that you do not over commit when starting, until you can define your cadence after a few service deliveries.

Bottomline

Wanting to start a side hustle or side gig is a great idea. It will help offset some of your bills and may even grow to become a major income source. However, you must know that sometimes, you may not get immediate business requests and returns. Patience, dedication, and perseverance is required with side hustles. Even if you fail the first time, you can try again.